Chosen By God
God sought after us, not us after Him. We should be forever grateful for His grace in pursuing us. It was only by the exercise of His own will that we were brought forth, born of Him, and are living for Him today.
Romans 9:15-16 – For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.”
James 1:18 – “Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits His creatures.”
John 1:12-13 – “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Romans 3:11 – “There is none who understands, there is none who seeks after God.”
John 6:44 – “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.”
John 15:16 – “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and ordained you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain.”
Ephesians 1:4 – “According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world.”
Isn’t that awesome? He chose us before the foundation of the world, before the world ever existed or was created. God, in His infinite wisdom, foreknowledge and predestination, looked through the corridors of time, saw us, chose us to be His own and adopted us into His family. Praise the Lord! Someone may say, “But that’s not fair, God didn’t choose me.” Well, if you accept Jesus, you’ll discover that you were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. But you say, “I don’t want to accept Jesus into my life.” Well, I guess you weren’t chosen!
It’s clear from scripture that God sought after and chose us and not the other way around. He pursued us until He had apprehended us. Much like Paul described Jesus’ apprehension of himself saying, “I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12).
When the painting of Jesus standing at the door of our heart knocking was completed, a group of preachers and theologians were standing around admiring it. Many were commenting on what a great work of art and masterpiece it was. While they were discussing it in awe, Karl Barth, that great theologian, spoke up in what could only be described as frustration and anger. He cried out, “Nein! Nein! Nein! My Jesus did not stand at the door of my heart gently knocking, hoping I would allow Him in, as I, big and strong, held the door of my heart shut. Nein! He picked up His heavy cross, took the big bloody end of it and began pounding on the door of my heart over and over as I tried, with all my strength, to hold the door closed. Finally, when I could hold the door closed no longer, I fell away, the door of my heart flew open, and He came in and took up residence in the citadel of my heart.” Thus, the Master apprehends us!
Someone put it this way, God votes for us, the devil votes against us and we cast the final ballot. I’m not sure that adequately explains it, but it’s something to consider. The whole thing dealing with election, predestination and man’s free will can be baffling to many or if we are honest, it perplexes most of us with our limited, finite understanding. Many claim they understand it but that is merely pride talking. None of my children chose to be born prior to their conception. They literally had no choice in the matter. They had nothing whatsoever to do with their birth or to whom they would be born. It is parents who choose to have children and not children who choose to have parents.
Paul spent two chapters in Romans 9 and 11 explaining God’s sovereignty, predestination and election. In Romans 10, right in the middle of explaining it, Paul throws man’s free will into the mix and totally confuses everything. In Romans 11:33 he says, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” He is basically saying, “I just thoroughly explained it all to you, but I’m here to tell you I really don’t get it.” God is God! God’s total sovereignty, predestination and election are true and man’s free will is absolutely true as well. Both are true! When dealing with an infinite God, some things simply boggle our finite minds. Let’s just rejoice in the fact that God chose us.
It was in the exercise of His will that we were born again into His family. If we receive Jesus we discover that He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. We have been chosen by God! God is even now, through the Holy Spirit, calling you to come to Christ. Will you accept Jesus and invite Him into your life? He’s standing at the door of your heart, knocking and anxiously waiting for you to invite Him in.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for reaching out to me and choosing me to be Your own. Please come into my life and heart, forgive me of all my sins, fill me with the Power of Your Holy Spirit and help me to live for You from this day forth and forever. I choose to make you the Lord of my life and surrender all of myself to You this very moment. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
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